Chicken Curry Risotto

I love Indian and I love risotto... so I combined both to create this Indian inspired Risotto. I didn't use Arborio rice, so its not truly risotto, but the unrinsed Jasmine rice combined with coconut created nice creamy rice either way. I really liked how it turned out and so did my 3 critics. The little critics picked out the onions, they were chopped too big... next time I will dice them so they blend in with the rice more!


Ingredients
(serves 5)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 tsp mild curry paste
1 1/2 tsp tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 1/2 cup Jasmine rice (do not rinse)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 cup light Coconut milk ***

Directions

- In a deep pan, heat olive oil and add onions.
- Cook onions for 5 minutes until softened, add curry paste and ginger-garlic paste. Cook for another minute, then add chicken.
- Cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes, until all sides are white.
- Add rice, cook for another minute, stirring continuously.
- Add 1 cup chicken broth and garam masala, lower heat to low.
- Cook rice on low heat adding broth 1 cup at a time until it evaporates.
- Add coconut milk and cook until the rice is soft (or al dente) and the liquid has been absorbed. Make sure chicken has cooked through.

* If you are out of broth but rice and chicken are not quite ready, you can add water.

** Recipe should be ready in a total of about 20-25 minutes.

*** Here is a brand of coconut milk available in North America (60% less fat then regular coconut milk) perfect for this recipe!

Nutritional Data
1 serving

with light coconut milk
9 WW points
421 cal
8.7 g fat
53.7 mg Cholesterol
49.7 g carbs
1.3 g fiber
32.2 g protein

with regular coconut milk
11 WW points
479 cal
15.6 g fat
53.7 mg cholesterol
49.8 g carbs
1.3 g fiber
32.6 g protein

Mediterranean 3 Grain Risotto

Like most pre-schoolers, our little critics love pasta and rice, and almost any other grain we put in front of them. Their second favorite, right behind Mac-n-Cheese, is Risotto. Sure, it's tedious to cook, but the results are always creamy and delicious.

Here is a little twist on regular Arborio rice based risotto.

Ingredients
(makes 5 servings)

1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 celery stalk, diced
2 chicken breast (approx. 1 lb), cubed
1 1/2 cup 3 Grain Riso Gallo Rice (also marketed as Riso Bello Rice)*
4 cups hot chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup tomato puree (crushed tomatoes)
1/2 tsp marjoram, dried
1/2 tsp oregano, dried
1/4 tsp thyme, dried
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup quartered mushrooms
40 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Directions

-Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet; add onion and celery and sauté until softened.
-Add chicken and cook until white on all sides.
- Add rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add 1 cup of hot broth, tomato puree, marjoram, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir frequently.
- As broth evaporates, add more broth, 1 cup at a time.
- When rice is almost al dente, and there is 1 cup of broth leftover, add red pepper and mushrooms. Keep stirring until all broth as evaporated. Add more broth if needed. (red pepper and Mushrooms will be cooked but a little firm, if you want them more cooked, then add them earlier on, but they will be less flavorful).
- Stir in parmesan and stir 1 minute and serve.

* To make your own 3 grain risotto mix: 1/2 cup Arborio or Carnoli rice, 1/2 cup pearl Barley, 1/2 cup Spelt (Epautre in french).

Tips
- You can substitute Mushrooms and/or peppers for some of your favorite veggies. Nutritional Data shouldn't be much different.

Nutritional Data
1 serving
8 WW points
408 cal
8.7 g fat
4.4 g fiber
43.5 g carbs
37.7 g protein